Disassembly Required
by Lou.Vide
Summary: She supposed his cause was just, but there was madness in his path as well. Yet she would support him, follow him.
1. Chapter 1

_Disassembly Required._

_prologue._

he supposed there were the typical humans who grew to become afraid of the dark, of the quiet alleys and dilapidated buildings; then there were those who would always swallow naiveté like a pill. As if the ignorance it came with would keep them safer – _alive. _

Ayato supposed he preferred the latter to the former.

Emerging from the shadows of said crevices, he watched as his prospect of a victim scurried across the empty road with a head turning left and right every two seconds in undisguised fear. There was nothing particularly distinct about the girl; dressed in a typical navy blue high school uniform with a bag tightly pressed to her side, her whole disposition spoke "unimportant" and "eat me." Not one to drag out his hunger, he crossed the road that separated them with unrivaled speed.

The girl whipped around, wide eyes framed with short lashes and lips already parted in what he thought to be a scream. He couldn't really tell because before he knew it, her hair had followed the sudden movement and the ends of the strands had effectively hit his face. There was no doubt about it. Death was twisting his face.

"I – I'm so sor – sorry!"

Slowly, his eyes opened again and narrowed at the girl. His kakugan weren't concealed and while they were mainly out to convey his irritation, what he didn't expect was for her to suddenly bring up a bout of courage and throw her bag at him. Suffice to say, he easily deflected the purse to the side while his other arm stretched out to capture the offender in a vice grip.

To her credit, she struggled, but it was futile and together, they ended the night bathed in blood.

"Aw, she was supposed to be mine, Ayato-san," a ghoul transpired behind him as he finished the last bits of the corpse's flesh. The said boy didn't bother to offer one of their organization's newest recruits a reply and wiped the blood off his fingers with the girl's skirt.

"Should have claimed her faster, Owaka-kun." Another commented from his side.

"But Ayato-san will always be faster than me!" the ghoul despaired, throwing his arms around his companion. Forced to bear the sudden weight, the other ghoul turned to the dark haired boy, as if to implore for help, but before words could seep past his thin lips, he was silenced with a glare.

"See! Ayato-san's so mean too, what can I –"

"Quiet."

Before them was a slow driving car. The windows were tinted and so, with nothing to lead them on, the three ghouls quietly tensed up for a prospective fight. However, nothing of the sort occurred. The car remained in it's slow pace, not showing any inclination of releasing any of its occupants nor stopping by them. Soon, it disappeared into the horizon.

Owaka sighed, throwing all caution aside and leaning heavily on his dear companion. "My heart was about to burst! Here I am thinking the CCG –"

"Would you shut up?!"

* * *

"…how long has this been going on?"

"Pardon, miss?"

"The constant killings, excessive ghouls…_that thing that we just witnessed?" _

The private taxi driver hummed to stall the silence. His customer was young, yes, but she was also new and while he believed in preserving innocence and good, he also knew the chances of her surviving in Tokyo informed and updated would be better.

"For quite awhile their activity has risen, but rest assured we have the CCG –"

"I know who they are," the dark haired girl cut off. "I'm not so foreign to all this."

"Then if you don't mind me asking, why did you come back?"

The young woman shook her head and tore her eyes away from the windows. While she had desensitized herself to gore, she had yet to become accustomed and accepting to it being so common to her part of the world. "A relative of mine lives here," she answered. "You can drive faster now. Thank you for…letting me see that."

"As you wish, miss."

Yari let out a breath as the passing buildings quickly became a blur to her vision. She welcomed the sudden rainbow of neon lights before her and allowed their vibrancy to chase away the darkness that had previously clouded her mind.

Having been absent from Tokyo for a good eight years, she let her thoughts wander over to better memories. To her dear family and friends. She wondered if they were all still fine and if their letters held true to their wellbeing. Hopefully, she clasped her hands together, all of them were still alive and unaffected from the mess that were ghouls and society in general.

A buzz from her phone alerted her to a new message;

_Araaa!_

_Hurry up grandma! I'm not getting any younger! Sorry I couldn't pick you up today but since you're probably tired from you flight I guess we'll just have to see each other tomorrow. I'll send you the address of the café so you can see Kaneki too! Take care, you old lady!_

"You okay there, miss?"

Dispelling the twitch that had been born from her cousin's endearing nickname for her, Yari nodded her head and returned her phone to her purse. "Just fine," she assured.

The driver cast her a long glance. "If I were to remain honest, I have to say you looked like you were about to kill someone," he commented.

Yari forced out a short bubble of laughter. "Unless your name is Hideyoshi, you have nothing to worry about, sir."

His eyes flickered back to the road, a light like mirth jovially returning to his eyes. "The relative?"

Her lips formed something akin to a grimace. "Sadly."

* * *

A/N: new story new story woooo! This is by Louise of by the way so as to not get our stories mixed up. Anyway I practically religiously listen to Unravel but now that I finally have an actual plot to grasp onto I'm gonna listen to or even more. Dont know when the next chapter is coming up but hopefully soon! Hope you like this!


	2. 始まり

_One._

始まり

(_Beginnings.)_

Essentially, the visit was to last for one morning only, and after that, she would presume her trip around the rest of Japan to check up on other family members and do some personal exploration of the some historic regions. _Essentially, _that was the plan. However, her cousin seemed to have had other ideas in mind. Having roused up early in the morning to prepare for the day, she had only gotten out of her bed before her phone was bombarded with Hideyoshi's incessant texts, and before she knew it, her whole day and next two months had been already scheduled out for her. At first, she found his demands endearing, but after the fiftieth message her phone had found a new home in some corner of her hotel room.

"Late! Always late!"

Hazel eyes rose to meet the offending finger brandished at her face. She frowned and pushed it away, dark orbs rediscovering a new object to focus on. "Hide, it's been awhile." The said boy enthusiastically vocalized his agreement and quickly dragged her to the table he had jumped away from. "Come, come, Kaneki is here too! Actually, he –"

"Works here," Yari cut off as she and Hide finally got to the boy's table. Her eyes rounded in quiet disbelief at his current disposition. Almost instinctively, her hand reached out to him causing Kaneki to freeze as it came closer to his face. "You," she said, and before he could stop her, Yari flicked him on the forehead. "When will you ever start taking better care of yourself?" she snapped, pulling back her arm to smooth out the wrinkles that had settled on her skirt.

"I – it's nice to see you again, Yari-chan," Kaneki replied, a light dust of pink flustering his whole visage. He rose up from his chair, fully revealing his working uniform as he reached out to gather his and Hide's empty cups. "Would you like anything?" he questioned.

The intensity in Yari's eyes had yet to lessen, but as he offered to take her order, she found the fight in her diminished and so, she settled her hands back into her lap. "Whatever this idiot was drinking, I guess." She answered, igniting a new flame in her cousin's chest. Rising again from his chair, his finger returned to her face as he yelled at her refrain from calling him names. It had only been "eight years, and you could be more decent to me for being gone for so long!"

Kaneki inwardly chuckled as he left the duo in favor for a calmer venue with his fellow workers. Dropping the dirtied cups into the sink, he ventured further into their work area for a newer cup before being stopped by a calloused hand. "Who is she, Kaneki?" Nishiki asked, eyes having yet to stray from the rambunctious table. Kaneki's own line of vision traveled to follow his before another small smile teased its way onto his lips. A memory of round faces and placid days overtook his thoughts. For a while, he played with the possibility of returning to such days, but then he proposed he was wishing for the impossible. So he focused on the steaming liquid in front of him; "Yari-chan? She's Hide's cousin."

"Cousin, eh?" he quietly repeated to himself as he reverted back to wiping some mugs clean.

"That man's been scrutinizing me."

Hide's eyebrows perked up as he took a conspicuous scan of the café. Despite it being early in the morning, there were actually a few more customers loitering about with their own energizing drinks in separate corners. However, none of them appealed to Yari's description of 'scrutinizing.' Well, there was, "Nishio-san?" Hide asked, returning his attention to his relative. "He goes to the same university as Kaneki and me, but he's two years ahead – around your age I think. He's not bad," he drabbled.

"Well staring is considered rude in many countries, anyway –"

"Here's your drink, Yari-chan," Kaneki cut off, settling a warm cup of coffee right under her nose. She sent Kaneki a quiet thanks as her fingers slowly enveloped the hot porcelain; the tension in her body almost appeared to dissipate into thin air as the thin ivory digits intertwined at the center. She took a quick sniff of it and sighed, eyes automatically fluttering shut.

"I think she's in love," Hide whispered just a bit too loudly at his best friend. The boy merely laughed in reply as a swell of pride inflated his chest; he'd been working hard to perfect his technique and blends.

"Kaneki," her voice rang out, disrupting their mirth. "What has happened to you?" she asked, nodding off to his eye.

For a moment, he paused and wondered if it was too late to suddenly turn mute. Kaneki was tempted to lie, to actually dive into his previous thoughts of jumping back into the time before she had left them, before he had become something else, before he – he shook his head. "Just a small accident, Yari-chan." He assured her.

Both relatives' spines snapped just a bit more straight. "Small?" Yari's quiet voice repeated over Hide's exclamation. Kaneki's only visible eye crinkled. "Well, maybe not small but it's already happened. I'm fine now, so please don't worry about me," he said.

Yari smiled, albeit it contradicted her furrowed eyebrows. "Don't worry? That's my job, Kane-kun. I'll always worry for you and this idiot," she shot her hand out to cover Hide's mouth to prevent him from interrupting her. "But yes, it has happened already so just be more careful now for me, and Hide? You're almost late for school." She noted as she drew her palm back. The man jolted from his chair.

"Yosh! I almost forgot, thank you Yari-chan! Pay for me will you?" Hide implored as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. Scrambling for the door, he almost missed the fact that it was close before turning back and waving farewell at his two precious people. "See you both later!" he exclaimed before departing.

"My, that boy…" Yari trailed off. She glanced at her watch again before facing Kaneki. "When does your class start?" she asked.

"Sometime in the afternoon," and, seeing the almost empty cup in front of her he wondered, "Will you be staying long, Yari-chan?"

The young woman shrugged. "Hide won't have it otherwise, but I don't mind. Will you accompany me to the bookstore one day soon, Kane-kun? I'm afraid I haven't been caught up with anything these days."

Kaneki waved a palm in the air. "I wouldn't mind that, sure, Yari-chan."

Yari beamed. "Thanks, anyway I should go now too – have to find more permanent living arrangements and all that fun grown up stuff. Thank you for the drink, Kaneki," she said, taking out a moderate amount of cash. "This should cover for all of us, see you!" and with that, she gave the boy one quick hug before rushing out the door in a hasty manner.

Kaneki could only stare at her disappearing figure with a slow wave before Nishiki slid up to his side.

"So little Kaneki has a date now, hm?"

"Wh – what? N – no I don't!"

* * *

Humming a song she had caught on the radio yesterday, Yari proceeded to travel the streets in a lax fashion. While she was now pressed to look for a new living quarters, she decided that today would not be the day to worry herself with such matters. Instead, she planned on querying about other things instead. On subjects like 'what really happened to Kaneki Ken' and 'who was that dead girl from last night' instead. So she hailed a taxi and asked them to return to the street where the murder bad taken place.

"This is no place for a lady, miss. Should I wait for you?" the driver asked as they pulled into the dark road of the killing. Indeed, while there was still plenty of daylight out in the sky, the overhanging roads and towering buildings around them were secluding most of it from sight. Instead, what remained were filters of light streaming through less than savory cracked windows and cracks.

"If it won't trouble you," she replied, opening the door. She heard a faint "no" before she left the safe confines of the car and sauntered over to the bloodstained sidewalk. There was hardly anything left save for a trail of blood leading to an alleyway and a purse haphazardly discarded against the adjacent building.

Bending down, she picked the light blue bag up and examined its contents. Nothing was stolen and with the girl's wallet inside, she peeked it open to look for an identification card. _Mizuhara Chikai. _"Rest in peace…" she mumbled before walking back to the cab. She entered it again with the purse and wallet tightly clutched in different hands. "Could we stop by the nearest police station please?"

The driver observed her and the objects in her hands. Then he looked over at the sidewalk she had just abandoned. "You can't be part of the CCG, so…"

"I'm not," Yari confirmed. "But I am responsible for reporting this so if you would please," she gestured at the steering wheel in his hands. "I'd like to leave this area as soon as possible."

"Of course, ma'am."

A sharp whistle pierced the air as two large hands grasped the edges of a crumbling brick building. With ease, they pulled the their owner's body out the tight alley and allowed his head to pop out into the street. The car had long been gone, but with a slight twitch of his ear, he was still able to pick up its engine running a few meters away.

"Coincidence?" his partner questioned, emerging from his own cache.

Owaka shook his head as he wrung his hands together. "Different car but she must be one of the people that was in that creepy one from last night." He stated.

"She smelled like a human…"

"We should tell Ayato-san either way, maybe then," the ghoul pretended to discard a tear off his face. "He'll stop eating my food."

His partner sighed and launched himself towards a higher perch. "Less talk, more working."

Owaka frowned yet followed his lead. He swung himself up to the light post and with ease, they began traversing through the streets in relative quickness.

* * *

Typically, no matter what relation you had with the person, it was considered cordial to warn them or inquire if it was possible to stay at their house for a while; Yari, however, forewent these mannerisms and let her fist heavily knock on Hide's door. He liked her, so he wouldn't reject her sudden appearance. He demanded she stay in Tokyo longer, so he was practically obligated to accommodate her throughout her stay; all these justifications filtered through her head but no matter what her mind plainly set on one – he insisted she stay so stay she would.

"Yari..?"

The said young woman didn't bother to reply as she pushed past him with her luggage trailing behind her. Hide wasn't exactly keen on cleanliness, she had known that from their childhood, but as she glanced around, she began to seriously wonder if he'd ever grown at all from the past; coke cans, books, magazines, and what she prayed to be clean clothes littered the whole living room. Why his boxers had managed to travel so far, she had yet to ask, but she thought it best to keep her words short and sweet.

"This place is a mess."

Hide emerged from the short hallway rubbing the base of his neck. He came to a stop right beside Yari and took the same peripheral scan she had performed not a few seconds ago. Slowly, he began to come to the same realization

"Eh," he dragged out. "It could use some work." He admitted.

Yari quirked an eyebrow as she continued to survey the aftermath of Hideyoshi. "Well I hope that work starts now because I'll be staying here for a while."

"Hm?"

"You've asked me to stay and I will, but I need a place to stay at," she elaborated.

Hide appeared to take a few seconds to connect the dots. When he did, his eyes lit up again before his cheeks were colored a light pink. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Oh…"

He looked at his living quarters again. "I do have room! I have a pull out bed but…" his sight narrowed on the couch hidden beneath the pile of clothes and papers.

"We'll just have a sleepover." Yari concluded, moving past the living room and into his other hallway. Hide trailed behind her as she opened a random door. Fortunately, it led to Hide's bedroom – and even more fortunately, it was actually cleaner than the previous room.

"I guess," Hide spoke from behind her. "It'll be like the old times again, ne, Yari-chan?"

The young woman nodded her head as she stowed her suitcase in a corner of his room. "Exactly, and," she turned around, meeting Hide's inquisitive look with a smirk. "It's not like you've ever managed to have another girl in the same bed, right, Hide-kun?" she asked.

"A – ah! Yari-chan!"Hide shouted, his cheeks growing a brighter red. His outburst, however, remained ignored; she returned to her baggage in search of some pajamas to throw on.

"Don't lie, Hide, I would know. Anyway, at least this means that your bed is free from _cooties" _she teased, enjoying the blush the innuendo had formed on her cousin's face.

* * *

A/N: Wow! Thank you thank you so much for everyone who's shown some interest already! I honestly was not expecting any feedback for awhile. Anyway ouch

I hadn't realized going back into writing would hurt so much, I really cringe at this chapter but it was necessary to move things along. Hopefully you guys can excuse the rough edges of it and stay tuned for more! I promise to improve! Thank you for reading again and I hope you all continue to like it!


	3. コーヒー

_Two._

コーヒー

(_Coffee.)_

Mornings were a paradox; they were either a blessing or hell disguised as warm rays of light. _Well, _she thought to herself, _writers always did over romanticize things._ Hovering around the streets of Tokyo, Yari was quite the estranged pedestrian among the black and white suits flittering about hackneyed sidewalks. With no actual motivation dragging her feet anywhere, she was an alien among the bustling office workers and students. _Students._

Instantly, her feet began paving their way towards the quieter districts. Hide had been a mess this morning, rolling over her body as he fought to silence his alarm; he'd lost all proper pretenses as well and had abruptly changed in front of her cloudy eyes. However, that wasn't what had bothered her – it was the lack of caffeine in his home. He had hogged the last cup to himself on his way out to school.

"Nagachika's cousin, right?" Golden brown irises peered out at her from the counter.

Slowly, Yari nodded her head and made her way over to one of the stools. "Kobayama Yari; may I have a mocha cappuccino, please?" she answered, letting her eyes rest on Hide's 'Nishio-senpai.' Following the languid manner in which he moved about to fix her order, she decided that no matter what he said, 'Nishio-senpai' would always remain suspicious in her eyes.

"You could be more conspicuous with your staring, you know?"

Yari narrowed her eyes at the man as he slid her cup towards her. She stopped its momentum with her palm. "Should you be really talking?" she accused, referring to the previous day.

'Nishio-senpai' merely shrugged as he resumed to nonchalantly cleaning the counter. "I have a girlfriend." He interjected just he departed to greet a new customer.

Yari felt her cheeks flare with color as she haughtily chugged down a decent sized gulp. _Poor soul, _she thought in contempt as she sought out something to distract her from her irritation. Stepping in, she had noticed that Kaneki had been absent along with his other distinctly purple-haired coworker. It was a relatively quiet morning as well and there were no magazines around left for the leisure of customers.

Resigning herself to her phone, she swiped in her passcode to check for any updates on her email and her dead ward, Mizuhara Chikai. The police had been very simple and informal with her last afternoon, accepting the report with disturbing ease and commemorating her on her chivalrous efforts in bothering with such a trial. Their lack of reaction was enough to leave her thoroughly concerned on the welfare of Tokyo's standing against the ghouls, and so she demanded that they refer any inquiries made by the CCG regarding Mizuhara to go to her; to that they had easily complied as well.

_New text message!_

She tapped the notification open.

_Sorry about this morning, grandma!_

She sighed and punched in a quick reply before rising out of her seat. Leaving her dues by her empty cup, she headed back into the streets.

Although, that might have been easier said than done as she found herself completely lost within the next two hours. Having been gone for eight years had hindered her memory of the whole city's layout more than she would have liked and it was already bordering lunchtime. If she didn't get to the nearest market soon, not only would she have to face Hide's relentless teasing on her wayward state, but she would starve as well. Forgoing complete meals for two days tended to do that to a person.

Staring at the compact houses lined around her, she wondered how long she'd have to endure appearing like a hopeless tourist before the neighboring inhabitants would come out to take pity on her. Hopefully, soon, but with her luck considered:

"Ah!"

Stumbling forward, Yari twirled around in an attempt to catch herself and the intruder from an embarrassing fall. However, all it had done was drag them both down further in a heap of tangled limps. "I'm so sorry…" she mumbled as she tried extricating herself from their ungainly situation. It only took her a second later to realize that said other person had yet to officially move on their behalf. "Um."

"Are you lost?" his – _he was a boy, right? - _ sudden movement startled her back onto her palms as a pale haired head abruptly rose to her height. Big dark eyes stared owlishly at her, awaiting a reply.

"Y – yeah," Yari dragged out.

"Me too!" and with an effortless grace, had removed himself from the tangle of their bodies. The strange boy stood over her, a somewhat aloof aura surrounding him as he continued his unblinking gaze at her distraught figure.

More than done and at the brink of hunger, Yari pulled herself up – effectively alternating their positions; she shouldn't have felt so content with it, but she found herself easing a bit to see their difference in height.

"Sorry again, I guess I was just spaced out too much," she said. "I didn't hurt…you…" _She did._

Instincts taking over, she reached out for the boy's elbow and pulled his sleeve up higher to see the blood oozing from the blatant injury. She frowned. "You should have said something."

"It doesn't hurt."

With that much blood permeating through the broken skin, she doubted him and wondered how much of the fall he had taken. "You're coming with me," she decided, starting their journey back to what she hoped were the main streets.

The strange boy's eyes twinkled behind her as his free hand rummaged through her wallet. "But aren't we both lost, Stranger-san?" he mused.

By the time they were both seated at decent eatery, it was way past twelve and they were all but famished. The strange boy, who indeed was a boy, had finally introduced himself as Suzuya Juuzou to her minutes into her treatment of his wound. At first, he had actually refused to let her handle such a 'minor' cut, but after discovering that he'd plan on closing it up with a needle and thread – she had all but chained him down to let her treat it.

"It's not safe," she argued as her eyes watched the occasional passerby walk past the glass wall.

Juuzou was swinging his feet and twisting around in his seat next to her. To one particular stranger that stopped to look into the diner, he waved his fingers at before pulling faces on the scandalized consumer. It had taken much persuasion on her half to coax the owner to let them stay for their meals afterward.

He stopped moving to peer at her. "But I do it every day! Even if I don't have a scratch," he replied, stretching out his hand to wiggle his fingers. Yari sighed just as their individual meals were set in front of them. The boy managed to mutter a muddled 'itaki' before diving into his food.

Yari patiently broke her chopsticks apart despite her own apparent hunger before taking one roll into her mouth. Nonchalantly chewing, she kept one eye on Juuzou while the better part of the meal was left to silence as the food effectively sated their stomachs.

"So…full." Juuzou groaned as Yari hauled him through the streets. The said woman hummed in agreement as the final costs of the meal still filtered through her head; the boy had eaten _a lot. _If she kept up this kind of lifestyle with Juuzou occasionally intruding in it, her funds would be empty by the end of next month. She halted at an intersection just as she noticed how dark it was outside. She'd have to be home soon before Hide decided to launch a missing person's report.

"Well, we're back around the busier wards now. Will you be fine on your own from here, Juuzou-kun?" she asked, glancing at a convenience store just a few more blocks down. Maybe she could leave him there while she got a taxi for them…

"Yari-chan, your phone is missing."

Her eye twitched; "Do you have it again, Juuzou?"

The boy grinned up at her. "No! I beat most of your high scores already!"

Yari refused to fall to her irritation and wondered if she had left it at the diner.

"You probably did; I can get it! I'm faster." Juuzou interrupted her thoughts.

Accustomed to his intrinsic peculiarities by now, she merely nodded her head and gestured at the store up ahead. "I'll be waiting in there, I suppose," she caught onto Juuzou's sleeve before he could leave her reach. "Be quick." She added.

He wouldn't – and _didn't – _listen to her.

Thirty minutes had transgressed into forty before she finally braced herself for the night and ventured out of the confines of the store. On her way out, she had traded glances with the clerk and had almost flipped him off for looking at her with such despondent eyes; that was not a way to treat a lady. She wasn't going to die.

She hoped.

"J – Juuzou!" she called out at she wandered over to the back streets. Barely any lights decorated the pavement and Yari found her feet rushing forth towards the small circles of yellow beams for sanctity. In the back of her head, she pondered over the scenario of him simply getting lost again, but that did little to ease her nerves.

And he wouldn't steal her phone anyway; it was locked and he was too simple for that.

"Juuzou!" she hissed just as she spotted the boy meandering out of an alley. His trademark hair shadowed over his face and his hands were casually swung into his pockets as he swaggered towards the opposite direction.

_That brat, _she thought as she surged forward, clearly intent on demanding an explanation from him. "Juuzou!" she shouted again.

He stopped. He had heard her.

Her scowl vanished into a line as she planned on calling out to him once more because he owed her at least that much to _face _her. "Juu –"

"_Ladies."_

Yari's breath involuntarily hitched. She shouldn't have turned her head, but she did. With just mere centimeters of space left between them, scarlet eyes were looking at her. She should run, she told herself. But why did it feel like survival was futile?

A cold hand slithered over to her cheek as it mockingly turned her head back to face Juuzou's lone figure with a tender grace. She gritted her teeth together as two other ghouls jumped down on either side of him; one launching kick at his side.

"Juuzou!"

The leg made contact, yes, but the boy seemed ignorant to the pain resonating throughout his ribs as both hands clasped around the ghoul's calf. This brought them both down on the cement in a scrimmage over dominance as the ghoul relentlessly pounded on Juuzou's back in an effort to pry him off.

"Well don't just stand there!" he yelled at his comrade.

"It's quite amusing though…" he drawled but conceded and unleashed – Yari made a move to jump in and be a distraction or something, but the ghoul beside her would not let go. His grip on her face tightened, his nails drawing blood as he kept her back with his other arm locked around her waist.

"Just watch, little inspector." He said.

_Inspector?_

Yari's time for rumination was cut short just as green spider-like legs seeped out behind the other ghoul's back and surged towards Juuzou and his comrade. She wanted to close her eyes; there was no way Juuzou would have been able to foresee nonetheless evade that – but he did.

With finesse similar to that of a circus performer, he pushed off his aggressor and let the other ghoul impale his friend. "You brat!" he roared as the injured ghoul choked on his own blood.

His arachnid extensions dove for him again and Juuzou continued to maneuver through each attack with ease. It was like a dance, but with less beauty. Yari watched in apprehension just as the thing beside her hissed about how such a loss would not be missed in –

"Owaka! Make it quick!" he shouted just as Juuzou sailed through the air and landed on his opponent's back. His palms quickly covered their eyes, rendering them blind and leaving them to fend him off with directionless stabs. He was being efficient in fighting them off, but with each prolonged second, his body was being sliced more and more by the ghoul.

She wanted to yell, but she couldn't. It would do no good, but she did eventually find her fingers clawing into her captor's arm.

Yet then he had the indecency to yawn and finally grabbed onto an individual extension and drove it through the ghoul. Both bodies fell to the floor, but only one remained there was Juuzou rolled back to his feet and faced them.

Juuzou.

This wasn't the same boy she had doted on this afternoon.

His posture was more lax but his gaze was rigid – _lost. _

Yari already knew he wasn't attuned to everything like a normal human being, but the aura emanating off of him spoke more than of having a few loose screws: which side was truly safe now?

She would try both for the sake of her survival.

Propelling her head back, she smashed it against her captor's to loosen his hold. She managed two steps forward before swiveling around and punching him on his cheek – but the strength was lacking on her part and he simply drove something through her abdomen. She fell back, legs kicking out to at least throw him off balance with her – but it was futile.

Fortunately, awareness on Juuzou had faded and the said boy had managed to gain a jump on him; bashing his head further into the street repetitively. He'd been dead after the first five hits. The actual sound would haunt her for a few weeks, but the image of Juuzou losing himself would forever remain ingrained in her memory.

Arduously, she stood up, and with a trembling hand, she touched his shoulder.

"So did you find my phone, Juuzou-kun?" she asked. He finally stopped moving.

"Because I think we could use a call right now, don't you think?"

* * *

Loud, iridescent lights irritated Ayato. They were growing fainter and fainter as the vehicles owning them drove away, but he swore he'd forever despise them.

Jumping down from his perch, he easily decimated the two lone Doves lingering around the scene before he approached the half-dead ghoul.

Owaka grinned at him.

"Ayato-kun~" he muttered.

His boot-clad foot tore through his trachea.

* * *

A\N: Im actually pretty content with this chapter! Hopefully Juuzou's characterization was okay. I pretty much based it on him never making sense..? I'm planning on going about the manga with this with a few changes that will gradually lead up to something big...of course i might add a few flares from the anime too for the sake of pacing. Anyway thats it! Look out for an update possibly tomorrow or pretty much sometime this week! Thank you for all the support as well! You all deserve coffee!e'd been dead after the first five hits.


	4. 状況

_Three._

状況

_ (Circumstance.)_

There were worst things than being sent into the ICU, she supposed as she stared at the shadows emitted by the fluorescent lights of the hospital. After being carted away by the ambulance, Yari fought tooth and nail and the cumbersome darkness swallowing her to get the police to allow Suzuya to stay with her; he was more hurt but rather than be offered anesthesia and a stretcher he had been cuffed and shoved towards the beckoning backseat of a police car. That was how Hide found her, dressed in the veneer blue patient gown, seated on a superficial waiting chair, IV bag held precariously between two bandaged hands, and staring at the door separating her from her fellow victim – because that was what Juuzou was despite all the previous assumptions the officials had initially prompted on him.

"You really must be old, grandma," Hide stood in front of her, printed pajamas and all; a splash of vibrant colors among the white. "Shouldn't you be _in _the room and not outside it?" He picked up her IV bag and placed it back on the rack beside her. Yet his cousin remained stoic, withstanding his short reprimand and keeping her focus on the door: a clock's tick echoed in the otherwise still air.

Then suddenly, an array of action ensued just as Hide jumped to face the door that she had been staring at. Slamming open, it revealed a portly police officer clutching one side of his head, blood oozing through the slim crevices of his fingers as his beady black eyes darted from one cousin to the other. Finding nothing to his satisfaction, a restrained shout left his mouth as he lumbered towards the direction of the nurses' station.

Yari sprouted up from her seat in response and rushed into the vacated room; empty. Juuzou's bed was empty – used but vacant and nothing but the billowing curtains and city noise tittering through the broken window belayed the scene that had transpired. "Woah!" Hide came in right after her, marching straight through the broken glass to peer at the ground below. Nothing but the honking of horns and glistening shards of glass betrayed the previous patient's successful escape. "Wonder who could've don that," he murmured as he turned to find Yari pilfering through the side table. She produced one needle and a red thread.

"Let's go home, Hide," Yari carefully wrapped the needle with a few layers of tissue before enclosing the two items in her closed fist. She grabbed her IV pole and began steering it towards the open door. The boy took a pause, as if to digest the actual weight of her words. When he got his bearings, Yari was already half-way to her room. "But_ Yari-chan, you should be resting!" _he ran after her.

When he pushed through the door of her assigned room, the heavy oak gave out a loud creak to muffle the sound of a pillow sailing through the air. Hide deftly swayed to the side to avoid his assailer before grabbing it in midair to throw back at the made bed. The dark locks of Kobayama Yari peeped out of the adjacent bathroom, fixing her cousin with a glare, "Knock next time?"

"We grew up together, though," Hide shrugged as he watched her step out into the room. An involuntary shudder shook his shoulders and he spotted the gaping hole of her shirt providing a perfect display of the raw red skin surrounding the new stitches on her side. He made to protest at her abrupt decision – she needed rest, but Yari was already tugging the jacket he had on off of his body. He relented and let her zip the neon yellow hoodie up to cover the blatant wound demanding him to restrain her and let her recuperate. "Won't they notice you gone?" he weakly argued, following her out the door and into the staircase. The door gently hissed close behind them.

"You," Yari stopped and leaned against the brick wall, a hand gently sliding up to hover over her stitches. Hide shot her a critical stare as he raised an eyebrow,"Me?"

"Most of my contact info leads to connections and an apartment in France. You're information is the one I put down," she elaborated, picking up their pace after she made sure her stitches weren't threatening to open up. "They'll be looking for Suzuya, anyway."

"Are you in the yakuza or something, Yari?" Hide huffed as he silenced his phone – better to ignore the influx of calls that would undoubtedly flood his phone, he decided. Yari shook her head and opened the door ending their stay in the hospital. A blast of calloused autumn air blew against their faces as they stepped through to the join the sparse crowds inhabiting the sidewalks.

"Think for once, Hide," she rolled her eyes as she extended out her hand to flag down a taxi cab. One quickly came to a stop to attend to them. "Offended," Hide replied as Yari fed the driver the address to his – _their – _apartment. "Wait!" he threw a hand out to stop the elderly man from plugging in the information. He change the location of their destination.

"It's -," Yari glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard. "_Three AM, _Hide. Where are we going?" the street sounded vaguely familiar, but her brain was just as clouded as her eyes. She wanted to sleep. The events that had just eclipsed were far too sudden and needed to be confronted as soon as possible. In her current state, that was impossible; her mind was too overwhelmed and had created a tunnel-vision of sorts – a warm bed being at the end of that narrow corridor.

"Kaneki's," he supplied as they took a sharp turn. The streets they were on were thinning as residential buildings slowly replaced the crowed stores and skyscrapers around them. "He won't mind." But she did, although belatedly, she grew to appreciate the absence of lecturing rants from Hide and decided it was all she could do to appease the worry that he undoubtedly experienced after getting the notification from the hospital. So she settled into her seat as much as she could with a bothersome seatbelt strapping her in place. Closing her eyes, she let her head find comfort on Hide's shoulder. "Wake me up when we get there."

Although, it would turn out to be that Kaneki Ken's residence resided not too far from the hospital. Sleep had been purchased in the form of a paid ride with the brevity of fifteen minutes. Hide had taken care of the fee before he gently coaxed the bleary eyed female to depart the warm confines of the vehicle and enter the deserted roads surrounding Kaneki's apartment. Hide took charge of maneuvering both himself and Yari through the sharp twists and turns of the residential area as the light fixtures above them provocatively flickered as they passed by; Yari did not pretend that she had shuffled closer to her cousin – practically gluing her body to his side.

Much unlike his character, the boy did not comment as they made their way to the front of paint-faded door accompanied by a small window on the side. Reluctantly, Yari let Hide pry himself away from her as he reached up to the ledge of the door, his hand sweeping along it until a silver key fell into the clutches of his hand. Taking it, he inserted the key into its respective lock and with a click, turned and pushed the door open. Entering the humble abode of her childhood friend, Yari tentatively paused at the doorway as Hide brazenly trespassed into Kaneki's home. "Come on, Yari, Kaneki won't mind," Hide called out as he ventured further into the apartment.

Yari heeded his words with caution as she explored the home of her friend. The furniture held no promise that anyone had recently occupied it; composing of a simple sofa, coffee table, and a small television set. Opposite of the living room, Yari discovered the kitchen in which Hide currently resided, opening cabinets and searching through the pantry without care. Deciding to leave him, Yari went over to the sofa and curled on one section of it before her eyes spotted the short rack of shelves filled with books. A tug tickled the corner of her lips as she recalled the time she had gifted Kaneki with books from her travels. The glow on his face was one she would never forget aside from the face-splitting grin that had threatened to overtake his head.

"Find what you were looking for?" Yari looked up as Hide plopped down on the empty space beside her. "No," the distance in his voice was enough to alert Yari. "He doesn't have any food in his house besides the coffee and expired eggs." She let out a yawn, stretching her arms above her head; that tidbit of info didn't necessarily bother her as much as it should have. Going by what she had seen of Kaneki during her first visit at his workplace, he seemed to have other priorities than his own health in mind.

"We'll just take him out for groceries, one day," she replied, to ease her cousin's worry. Then her phone buzzed in her pocket, notifying her of a missed call – for good reason though, as she too, had put it on silent before she had taken her nap in the cab. She took the device out and checked for any voicemails – she got one. Pressing in her key, she took a listen to it.

"What is it?" Hide got up with a sigh. Yari stored it back into her pocket as she took the hand lent out to her. "The CCG wants a talk with me," she answered as they processed out of Kaneki's apartment; Hide made sure to lock the door behind them and returned the extra key from the place he had gotten it from. He made no reply to her response as they traveled back to the busier roads of Tokyo. By this time, the moon was beginning to slip past the buildings on the horizon – morning was coming and the docile aura it came with soon surrounded them.

The afternoon that came next simulated the same events of yesterday's beginning as the blaring alarm clock was finally silenced and not snoozed by Hide's errant arm as he stumbled out of bed, gracelessly rolling over Yari, to the irritation of both wound and person, as he proceeded to scream his head off about school and being late; the girl only waited for the close of the front door and the silence to return before she too, got up and went through the process of getting prepped for the day. A wayward glance at the bed and room they currently shared quickly repulsed her from the apartment and from even attempting to alleviate any part of the mess it had incurred over the recent days.

Shouldering her brown bag over her shoulder, Yari popped in some pain medications to steer her thoughts away from her stitches as she began her ascent towards the prominent CCG building in the first ward. There was no telling what was waiting for her there, but she knew better to substitute the word that they had used, 'interview,' for interrogation. Even the simplest of minds would have known to grow suspicious or at least curious about the girl who had reported in a ghoul attack and had consequently been in one a few days later.

Stepping through the glass doors, she let the awe shove itself back into the recesses of her mind as she approached the large desk of the vast room. "K –"

" – oboyama Yari, yes," the clipped voice of the secretary nodded as she languidly gestured at the cluster of sofas and tables behind their desk. "Please wait there, someone will be with you in a moment for a brief meeting." Yari did as told, taking the taciturn tone in stride as she approached a chair by the glass walls. Nothing but a significant view of the outside walls surrounding the perimeter of the impressive building appealed to her view. She made to tap the glass, unsurprised to notice that it was unlike common ones; _bulletproof, probably, _she thought. Although, she wondered if they did much against Ghouls.

Her moment of solace only lasted for a few minutes, however, as she was soon approached by a tall unassuming young man with thick eyebrows. She nodded, taking her cue to stand up and follow him with his easy smile and beckoning hand. "Kuroiwa Takeomi, ma'am," he introduced. "My SO, uh – that is, well my supervising officer," he stumbled over his words, hinting at Yari that the man was either relatively new or just naturally fiddled with his words. They came to a stop in front of an elevator where a man with light brown hair stood by. "Sir," Takeomi cut off his rant and straightened his posture upon greeting the stoic looking man. He, in reply, nodded and turned to Yari who had been blatantly observing him until now.

"Kobayama-san," he said. "I'm Take Hirako, overseer of the twenty-first ward and the person you are to meet with." He motioned at the elevator just as its silver doors slid open, letting her go in first. Yari watched him press the button labeled 'B2.'

"The twenty-first ward?" she suddenly repeated as they began descending. "I was attacked in the twentieth – and the residing wards by mine are –"

"The nineteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth," his eyes slid over to her as the doors opened to release their passengers. They stepped out and he began directing her down the hallway and almost as if random, turned to one door, slid his ID through a slot, and let themselves in. "Mizuhara Chikai was murdered in ward twenty-one, therefore, her case and yours, are under my sector." Yari stared at him as she let her body act on its own accord and take the seat opposite of the door; a metal desk separated her from her exit and the imposing man.

"What do you want from me?' she settled on saying.

Hirako leaned back on his respective chair after taking out what appeared to be a voice recorder out of the desk, "The truth." Yari stared at him, as if judging the outcomes that would arise in the end, but she knew better than to resort to lies or fabricated stories. So she opened her mouth and weaved out the story chronologically from her arrival to her stay in the hospital. Mid-way through detailing her escape, she noticed a quirk on her interrogator's lips, and decided that maybe he wasn't as stern as he let on.

"And it hasn't occurred to you, that you should have stayed in the hospital?" he asked at the end. Out of all that information she had bombarded him with, he zeroed in on that one. She shrugged, "Juuzou left, why couldn't I?" Again, something seemed to tug at his lips as he rose from his chair.

"Thank you for your compliance, Kobayama-san," he opened the door for her, closing it once she was out to escort her back to the main lobby. "And he is fine." Yari's hazel eyes rose up in unison with the elevator. "Suzuya is a CCG investigator," he confirmed her earlier musings during her talk.

"Th – that's good," she breathed out and stepped out of the elevator's confines. She stuck out a hand just as they began to close earning another blank stare from Hirako. "It may be too much to ask, but are you guys doing something to apprehend the ghouls that attacked Mizuhara-san?"

Hirako's eyes narrowed. "Kobayama-san, you're not looking for these Ghouls, are you?" his own hand joined hers to hamper the sensors from allowing the doors to close.

"No, of course not!" she quickly shook her head. "I'm just…"she watched as Hirako pulled his hand back and stepped away from the door. Yari took the hint to drop her hand as well. "All Ghouls are our enemies, Kobayama-san." And with that, the elevator snapped shut.

* * *

Author's Note: _Dialogue. Lots of dialogue. Again, I apologize for the very long absence, but for those who have read it, they know it is due to losing the email for this account and etc - long story short. Anyway, I apologize if my writing has deteriorated a bit - I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. Not sure when the next chapter is coming up, possibly sometime next week if my schedule is forgiving. Also, there will roughly be about three or four more chapters of this "arc" before we jump into :RE - where most of the action is actually. So can't wait for that! See you in the next one and tell me if it was ok?_


	5. ネコ

_Four_

ネコ

_(Cat.)_

The televisions blared in kaleidoscopic lights, broadcasting advertisements beckoning typical civilians to purchase happiness and convenience with the latest products out in the market; more than one person crowded in front of the store's display of new technology – their scents intermingling with one another to create a concoction that the ghoul among them could hardly ignore.

Ayato's kakugan flashed once in the brevity of one commercial transition before they returned to their dark irises. He pulled his scarf higher up his face, masking his visage and hampering the temptation to just reach out, take a bite, get a taste – his shoulders paved a way through the mass of bystanders, eliciting glares and insults from those who he had hit. Finally liberating himself from the crowd, he succumbed to his hunger's temptations and grabbed a finger shoved into his pocket. In a flash, it disappeared within the confines of his mouth; his ears picked up a hitch of breath.

A woman, not quite old and not quite his age, stood a few meters across of him, with nothing but strange eyes to betray that she had been a spectacle to what he just did. His hands dropped into his pockets as he tilted his head to the side by just a fraction, allowing his scarf to slide low enough to reveal his lips. A grin eclipsed over them, exposing the blood-stained teeth that had chewed down his snack. To her credit, the young woman merely frowned; Ayato fixed the fabric to have it hover over half his face again. The action took no more than two seconds of his attention, so when he gazed up he was not expecting to find her absence. Curiosity ignited, Ayato made note to pass the area she had once occupied to pick up her scent.

Familiar.

That was all his mind could discern before he reminded himself of the task at hand. No matter that someone had spotted him, he was a ghoul, and he traversed enough through the wards to avoid detection directed at him by one measly scrapple of meat. He had bigger matters at hand and one human was not going to hinder his mission. However, as he emerged from the false haven that was Anteiku, he reasoned that maybe a detour was needed as he picked up the same scent drifting through the wind. The human was curious, and as he belayed to the other ghouls in his group that he had something to attend to, he began tracking the human; he hadn't had a full meal yet since last night's dinner.

Ayato toyed with a loose thread inside the pocket of his jacket: answers and lunch. Two birds with one stone. Although, he crossed the street, eyes focusing on the tan trench coat weaving through the crowds, he supposed that the more befitting saying would be that curiosity killed the cat.

And what an elusive human his prey was.

Stopping at an intersection, his nose took the slightest of inconspicuous sniffs to discover that the scent had gone in two directions; left and right. The woman knew she was being followed, but at the same time, Ayato knew that he neither had the time nor patience to properly indulge himself with such a chase. He was the one who they had charged to deliver the one-eyed package, the boy who had smitten Touka into further immersing herself into the ideal of becoming 'human.' _Pathetic. _They were ghouls – there was no such thing as compromises. Which was exactly why he chose to abandon his hunt for the time being, interesting or not, he was smart enough to begrudgingly acknowledge that his position in the Aoigiri was precarious at best. He needed to heed his orders because that was the only way he would survive and in unison, become stronger.

Ayato retraced his steps to trail the path that Yamori and Banjou took; he didn't pretend to be affected by the muffled tears that dropped in the second floor of Anteiku as he passed by the disguised nest. His sister would learn one day too, what it took to survive.

But that day would be far in the future, he discovered as he led the one-eyed ghoul through the ruins of the twenty-fourth ward. The boy proved that he was nothing short of _expected; _stammering, quiet – Ayato found it hard to swallow that this was the boy that his sister spent time with. He was weak, stumbling, and had no sense of self-preservation at all. A lowly ghoul would have been a better fetch than him – at least that one accepted who he was. Although, he steered his body to claim the seat it had taken to going to, the boy was a one-eyed ghoul. Still human, in regards to upbringing, and that made it all the worst. Touka was tarnishing what little respectability he had managed to garner for their family over the past few years by associating with types like him, and – as the half-ghoul's ownership was transferred over to him, he wondered if there was something truly salvageable within the trash that was Kaneki Ken.

Humanity.

That was Ayato's first target upon dealing with his new charge. His humanity was a hindrance, if Kaneki were to lose it, then becoming a ghoul would be a more facilitated process for him. And if it proved that the roots that kept him grounded to his morals were too deep, then he decided that there worst ways to go than being subjected to Yamori's vindictive cannibalism.

Or maybe not, but Ayato was hardly concerned with that as he ruminated over the newest issue at hand: Kaneki Ken's company.

He wasn't blind nor naïve, he had gotten his position for a reason, but the Bin brothers who silently appraised his move were ignorant to that as they visibly stared at the white hulk, Tatara, as if waiting for his disapproval. But he remained silent, a spectator among the tempestuous clouds that hung over his comrades. Yamori was the same, but Ayato knew a tempted shark in waiting when he saw one.

So with the approval, he decided that battles were only won with risks and threw Kaneki into the lot of pillagers that were composed of the old residents of ward eleven. They were the bad sort that could have been found in the lofty chairs of Anteiku if not for the fact that they were still very much so ghouls. Sway Kaneki into sympathizing with their kind, they could probably succeed in doing, but weaving him ties to Aogiri – they would probably fail at; it wasn't the most profitable of outcomes that Ayato could have conceived, but if he were to ever make a tool of the boy that Touka was smitten with – then this was it.

And maybe this would be his stone hitting two birds for the day. All that was really left now was just seeing he result of his projects; for all their sakes, Ayato hoped that Kaneki would be enough of a fool to willingly play into them.

"Banjou, show him to his new room," he pushed the boy toward the bumbling hulk and spared no second more before disappearing from sight. He had one more pressing matter to attend to for the night.

* * *

The scent had been familiar.

Between the nights spent quenching his hunger with the warm ambrosia harvested from his human meals and running errands for Aogiri, it took much for something as simple as someone's scent to imprint themselves into his memory. So naturally, Ayato took to the street where he abandoned his chase. The trail was cold, but he had his ways. His hand casually reached out and grabbed a cuffed sleeve. Together, the two bodies found themselves pressed into an alleyway; Ayato stretched an arm out to stop the other ghoul from fleeing.

A low rumble reverberated against his throat as his kakugan and bikaku pushed out of his being. Ayato remained still, stoic eyes coal black. "I won't go!" he yelled. "'s my territory!" One of his limbs darted at the purple-haired boy, testing waters and masking his fear. Ayato deftly dodged the blatant assault on his person and reappeared behind his attacker, the glow of his own kakugan forewarning the ghoul of worst punishments other than a missing arm: this what the kind of company that surrounded his sister – trash.

"You think that will stop me?" he pushed the ghoul into a wall, ignoring how it concaved and exposed the confines of a janitor's closet. "I need you to tell me just a few things."

A woman's soft croon echoed in a solitary living room, mourning over lost loves and time passed. The voice hummed against the walls and the bones of the single occupant of the apartment, coaxing out both solace and loneliness in the dark shadows and thoughts until it was cut off by pale digits reaching out to pull the plug of a recently purchased record player. The woman's voice died off to be replaced by the dull, monotonous drone of a television host, reporting some new incidents caused not only by ghouls but by disreputable humans too. The inhabitant's eyes and attention were on anything but the screen.

They were on the white walls of the owner's apartment, which were decorated with sporadic placements of picture frames and accidental dents; on a cold meal served in the form of a plastic bowl filled with previously hot noodles and chopped, air-dried vegetables; on a small transparent cup that was half-empty – its contents shook as a knock reverberated throughout the room.

Hazel eyes rose up to stare at the door. The television was quickly switched off as the watcher stood up to greet the unexpected visitor; wood swung open with ease to reveal dark irises paired with a thin Cheshire smile. Yari briefly looked past him to search for the moon, but the large yellow crescent wasn't present that night.

"Can I help you?" Yari clutched the edge of the door, pulling it closer to close the wide gap falsely inviting her night visitor into the apartment. While some part of her said rude, she felt that with the recent eclipse of events, caution was more warranted than manners; she could apologize if the boy felt any offense anyway. Words for superficial wounds.

The boy remained quiet, however, and rather than give her a customary greeting or even a response, he pushed himself past her and took a sniff – _a sniff – _of the apartment, much to her surprise. She raised a hand, as if to put it on his shoulder, but as warded off by his glare. A glare.

"Excuse me," Yari began. This was way beyond the trespassing of manners, but she was silenced with another look before she could help herself to more words. Yet, she realized that she didn't words anymore. Rather, in the renewed silence, she found the time to finally observe the boy.

Her hand reached out again, but this time, at the scarf curled around his neck. The boy made no inclination to move or even stop her; gaze unnervingly glued to her face as she pulled the thin fabric up to his nose. The assumption confirmed, his eyes turned red and it took all her willpower to only reveal a minor tremble as she slowly pulled her hand back.

"Let's have a talk."

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Ayato is hard to write - I never realized that until now, but we'll be retuning to Yari's POV next chapter until we reach Hide's after and then in that one, it will be marking the end of TG and the start of RE - so that one will be especially long - longer than the past chapters I've been posting at least. So sorry if they've been short so far! I'm not extremely pleased with this character seeing as Ayato was just a berg of ice to try and understand so yeah, hope it was ok at least. _


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